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September 29, 2005
THE "REALIST SCHOOL" BASHES BUSH...
...in two recent books, both of whose authors have, as it happens, appeared on Extension 720. Gary Rose, the managing editor of Commentary, takes on the authors, Stephen Walt and Richard Haass, whose separate representations of the "hard line" critique of Iraq policy are fully voiced and assertively argued. And he finds those arguments less than compelling, offering a counter-interpretation that deserves equally serious attention.
Posted by Ext720 at 09:59 PM | Comments (0)
REGIME CHANGE IN SYRIA...
...is on the mind of Rifaat al-Assad, the uncle of Bashar the opthalmologist. With all the terrorists coming into Iraq from Syria, it sounds like something we should be encouraging though we are, as might be expected, giving mixed signals.
Posted by Ext720 at 09:58 PM | Comments (0)
THE CONCEPT OF "HATE CRIME"...
...may well be the greatest threat to the maintenance and continuity of democratic civility. So says Robert H. Knight in this article which asks whether ultimately "recognition of marriage (may) someday be a hate crime in America." Knight is director of the Culture and Family Institute.
Posted by Ext720 at 09:57 PM | Comments (0)
THE FUTURE OF AIDS...
...is at issue as one (ONLY ONE!) study suggests that the AIDS virus may be "weakening." This BBC story, as usual, features some inportant links that add considerable depth. Most troubling is the linked article about increased indulgence in "risky sex."
Posted by Ext720 at 09:56 PM | Comments (0)
DARK MATTER--ITS MAGIC TOUCH IS EVERYWHERE...
...after all!! This conclusion, based on some simulation studies conducted in Santa Cruz and analyzed by a team in Paris at L'Ecole Normale Superior, solves a problem that stood in the way of a unified astrophysical model.
Posted by Ext720 at 09:55 PM | Comments (0)
DE MORTUI NIL NISSI BONUM...
...said the Romans but in England they often do newspaper obituaries with a bit more candor than reverence. A case in point, from yesterday's Telegraph, is this account of the slightly bizarre career of the contemporary (and more-or-less psychiatric) guru, M. Scott Peck.
Posted by Ext720 at 09:55 PM | Comments (0)
A DISENCHANTED ENGLISHMAN...
...examines what he takes to be the collapse of virtue in his Albion. Theodore Dalrymple takes note of, and seeks to account for, the "radical asocialization" that he now discerns in English life.
Posted by Ext720 at 09:53 PM | Comments (0)
AN AMBIVALENT REVIEW OF HAROLD BLOOM'S JESUS AND YAHWEH...
...only whets our interest in finding out just how he applies his "anxiety of influence" model to the origins of Christianity. The review is from the current issue of the New York Sun.
Posted by Ext720 at 09:51 PM | Comments (0)
A COMPLETE PERFORMANCE OF BELLINI'S NORMA...
...as sung by Joan Sutherland and conducted by Bonynge is available here. Each selection must be seperately activated, but the beauty of the performance more than justifies the effort.
Posted by Ext720 at 09:50 PM | Comments (0)